The Science Discovery Engine (SDE), NASA’s centralized, search capability for all open-source science data and information, recently released a major upgrade to its backend infrastructure. Shifting to OpenSearch, an Amazon Web Services (AWS)-native system, now provides NASA’s SDE team with more design control to better align the platform with NASA’s long-term technology roadmaps and commitment to open science. 

The technical overhaul significantly enhances the SDE’s search precision and agility, delivering faster and more refined results to users. The default search mode combines both keyword (exact match) and vector (conceptual queries) search strategies, and API integration allows the ability to choose among keyword, vector, and hybrid modes. The redesigned SDE also features a more flexible interface that includes better metadata, advanced filtering options, and highlighted results for rapid information retrieval. In addition, the new infrastructure improves overall system responsiveness, ensuring that NASA’s science data, software, and documentation are more accessible than ever.

Ultimately, this redesign is a strategic pivot intended to accelerate scientific discovery workflows. The move also reduced NASA’s operational overhead by about six times the previous annual cost. By transforming the SDE’s infrastructure, NASA has not only created a more sustainable platform, but has also built a scalable foundation poised to integrate future AI-driven innovation and enhanced information search strategies.

The Science Discovery Engine is managed by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center’s Office of Data Science and Informatics (ODSI) and funded by NASA’s Office of the Chief Science Data Officer (OCSDO).